ARC300H0 S1/ ARC2016H S
Instructor: Mauricio Quiros Pacheco
Meeting Section: L0102
Summer 2024
Travel Dates: July 2 - July 26, 2024

Overview

Costa Rica is a country where unforgiving topographies and exuberant landscapes became ideology, a democratic republic where cultural identities happily coincided with continental reliefs and tropical climates.

The country’s early populations deliberately retreated into the country's landscapes in the pursuit of undisturbed, loner lifestyles. This initial quest for solitude also resulted in an egalitarian tenancy of land, where remoteness was of higher value than abundance.

Early architectural developments, especially those related to agrarian production and rural life, did not escape - and largely continue to be built on - these principles.

This is the context for the Summer Studio and Workshop Costa Rica: No Artificial Ingredients, a 3.5-week intensive traveling program that will focus on investigating and designing agrarian prototypes for singular climatic, material, and urban conditions present in Costa Rica. Climatic focus will be on three typical zones: tropical rainforests, tropical dry forests, and tropical wet and dry climates. Tectonic research will concentrate on standard materials used in the country, among them: corrugated metal, concrete blocks, wood planks, and cement boards. Finally, prototypes will be developed for one of three typical sites responding to rural, semi-urbanized and intensely urbanized areas. The program is structured in three phases: research, site visits, and individually designed projects.

Application

In order to apply, students are required to submit a paragraph describing your interest in the Costa Rica: No Artificial Ingredients course, 5 work samples (student work), and a short CV. This course is available to HBA AS students in year 2 or higher who completed ARC200H1 and ARC201H1. Also open to MARC, MLA and MUD students.

Undergraduate applications are to be submitted HERE (Please note the form is limited to 1 submission. Further editing and amendments are NOT allowed after the form has been submitted.).

Information sessions for this course will be held on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 from 12:00pm – 2:00pm (please see email for more details).

The deadline to apply is Monday, February 19, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.

Graduate applications are to be submitted HERE (Please note the form is limited to 1 submission. Further editing and amendments are NOT allowed after the form has been submitted.).

The deadline to apply is Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.